Sunday, July 10, 2016

I have been busy working on my website...oh and graduating from school. I all but abandoned this site, but I'm not taking it down. This site will remain up for Book Challenges and other random news; however, my more active sites can be found through my web site. Although it is all pretty new, so not much to see there yet. Please bookmark the website, thanks.http://www.lizkelso.com/

Saturday, January 2, 2016

Back by popular demand, Audiobook Challenge is back for 2016! JoinThe Book NymphoandHot Listensfor the 4th year of great audiobooks.

Audiobooks are great for those times you want to read but can’t for some reason like driving, doing chores, working out, or if you’re one of the lucky ones like me, listen to them at work.

I know some of you are thinking, audiobooks? Pass. I thought that once too. But when you find a great narrator they can make the story even better. There are some series I will only listen even if I can get the Arc I’ll wait until the audio is available because the narrator does such a great job bring the book to life.

reading challenge details:

Runs January 1, 2016 – December 31, 2016. You can join at any time.

The goal is to find a new love for audios or to outdo yourself by listening to more audios in 2016 than you did in 2015.

Books must be in audio format (CD, MP3, etc.)

ANY genres count.

Re-reads and crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed.

You do not have to be a book blogger to participate; you can track your progress on Goodreads, Shelfari, Booklikes, Facebook, LibraryThing, etc.

If you’re a blogger grab the button (on the sidebar) and do a quick post about the challenge to help spread the word. If you’re not a blogger you can help by posting on Facebook or Tweeting about the challenge.

Saturday, December 12, 2015

The 13th Gift: A True Story of a Christmas Miracle by Joanne Huist Smith

This story revolves around a family who loses their husband/father. It also plays on the 12 days of Christmas as someone is leaving them gifts during the Christmas season. The story is vivid and well written. I am able to feel sympathy for these characters; however, I found it a bit depressing. I tend to like Christmas stories that are more joyful. 3/5 Stars

The Bridge by Karen Kingsbury

Crossed lovers, natural disasters, tragedy, it is all in this book. I felt it was very reminiscent of the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.” There is a few scenes that one can practically overlay this story on top of that one. It was different enough to keep my interest though. I did enjoy the crossed lovers storyline. 4/5 Stars

Charles Edward Hall plays Santa Claus in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular in New York City. This is a “true” story about how he became Santa. It is a little out there in points, but it was never boring, that is for sure. It is a quick read, and I enjoyed this one. Was it well written, eh, not really. But whatever. 3/5 Stars.

Movies:

Elf: Will Ferrell is the best!!

The Flight Before Christmas: This was a Lifetime movie. I usually don’t watch Lifetime but Mayim Bialik stared in it as well as produced it. Here she plays a half Jewish, half Catholic woman who takes a flight home for the holidays. The reason for the trip as well as what happens during the trip make this story well worth the watch. I love Mayim anyway, and her co-star Ryan McPartlin (hottie) were great together. 4.5 / 5 Stars

The Road to Christmas: Apparently this is an older movie, but I’ve never seen it. And to be honest it took a while before I realized that the lead was Jennifer Grey. Jennifer plays a high powered fashion photographer who is trying to get to Vale for her wedding to her Italian fiancé. Her flight gets canceled and she has to find a way to get to Vale. She comes across a father and her 12 year old daughter and they offer her a ride. Since this is Lifetime, I don’t have to tell you much about this, and we all know how it ends. But I did like the interesting twist. I was REAL bored, and this was on (This was on before The Flight Before Christmas that is why I was on the channel to begin with). 3/5 Stars.